As per title. Hoping for some good news. The grade control on my D5k2 has *** where it should read the live sensor position on the screen. The machine was imported (genuinely as a used machine from the USA to U.K. Finning). Tried doing calibration and it comes up with error and also restoring factory settings and comes up with error. any ideas?
The blade IMU, c-frame IMU and the EC520 control ECM plus harnesses are all vulnerable to damage and failure. Without further examination and testing can’t tell you what the issue is. The EC520s typically mounted on the right side frame rail near the right front engine mount are vulnerable to corrosion as well. Any codes coming up?
Give us a Serial Number to work with as well . It helps to track down diagnostic information.
0002 - Active diagnostic not present 0009 - Calibration Aborted by ECM then Factory reset says: Error Setting Factory Defaults Serial Number is: KY203539
I think you're off by one word with that first Code. According to the Troubleshooting Guide 0002 is "Active Diagnostic Present". That will inhibit any attempt at a calibration. See attachment. Somewhere in that list in the RH column you have an Active Diagnostic Code You can use the Monitor System Display to access the list of Diagnostic Codes (Active or Logged) that you might have. See the second attachment.
Here’s the pics I have from diagnostic screen
From this photo you have a total of four Active Diagnostic Codes., three of which I would say will affect the operation of the Grade Control System. I will try to scrounge up some troubleshooting procedures for them and post back. The seat belt switch may or may not affect anything but I suggest you troubleshoot that one at the same time as the other three. With these all-electronic mmachines one never knows.........
Please check your PMs. It's somewhat of a large attachment.
Just a thought… Would anything be unplugged if it were running a guidance system? haven’t looked at the harness yet.
This is pretty funny. I have a D4k2 with the same situation. My only code is the CAN Data Link though. I replaced the harness, but no change. After that I tried to get Cat to come out and diagnose it, and they never showed up. So, I just run mine as is. But Wilj, would you let us know what you find?
Do you have anything particular in mind.? I’m not sure exactly what you are referring to. EDIT: Corrosion or humidity in any harness connector could also produce the same effect as it being disconnected, even though it isn't disconnected physically, if you get my drift.
I recently replaced one of the ECMS that controls this stuff due to corrosion on the pins of the ECM and likely corrosion migrated internally.
If you would like the diagnostic for the CAN DL you're welcome to it.
That would be awesome Nige. I would greatly appreciate it.
If the OP’s problem is as a result of corrosion and/or water ingress then as part of the fix I would suggest using Senson Electrguard grease and amalgamating tape on all the electrical connectors on the grade control system
check your PM's.
Just heard back from Sitech and they have said that “Grade control system installation status” “Not installed”. no SEA code installed
That’ll do it.....
They are talking about full 3D grade control which is more advanced (and a paid license option) and uses the typical base station stuff and a second in cab display , you are looking to get your slope assist system fixed (a standard system included on these dozers).
For both the on board control system and for utilising 3D be it Trimble or Leica?
If you are using an external full 3D system you will not need “Grade Control” enabled (that’s Caterpillar’s integrated full 3D system that is either factory installed or dealer installed option). If you are using your own 3D setup or not at all you will not need it, it costs a lot of money to enable it. your problem is in wiring or sensors or the ECM itself, not options enabled or not. Of course no favors have been done by the manufactures not clearly specifying what is what when it comes to this stuff and throwing everything under the generic heading of “grade control”
Just added it to cat app and this is what it throws up. Going to look at connections and harness today
Same three Codes I sent you troubleshooting procedures for last week.
Had a look through and couldn’t find anything obvious so left thought I should just lump it and give up on trying. Anyway… Jumped in dozer this morning and turned it on and hey presto it’s working. I didn’t even touch anything, only looked. leaving me to believe that it may be a function that may be controlled remotely by CAT or the dealer Finning?
The only thing that is really controlled “remotely” is a subscription/licenses for the full blown 3D integrated grade control and your readings for the blade are unaffected whether that’s active or not. Do not be shocked if these issues return. A lot of these kinds of issues can be very intermittent which is extremely frustrating when you are trying troubleshooting because you can easily think it’s fixed. I started as a mechanic right when these slope assist and integrated 3D grade control systems were introduced and being the electrical troubleshooting specialist at my shop I have gotten a good amount of experience with these systems and their operation from calibrating them during PDI (and all the things that you have to deal with when one doesn’t want to calibrate correctly!) to diagnosing and repairing them after damage or failure in the field. Same goes for the next generation excavators with integrated so called “2D grade control”
I’d put money on a connector with damp in it that’s now dried out a bit or something like that. As JD says, don’t be surprised if the problem comes back.
The difficulty you will have is that unless the Codes are Active there is no sure-fire way to troubleshoot them. If you don't feel confident to tackle the procedures yourself then TBH with the electrical schematic and the procedures it ought to be within the competence of any half-decent electrican.
Im confident, perhaps too eager to solve it and wanting to pin point the problem straight away. I have removed the offside bonnet panel and have found the entire sump full of sand and silt which covered the power supply pack. Having a good unplug and clean mission on the connectors,. (fingers Crossed)
you need to drop and clean out your belly pans regularly, not only for mud impacting the ECM but also so that it doesn’t rub a hole in the oil pan. This is a very neglected task as it’s a very annoying one to accomplish.
Agreed. I recall at least 2 instances within the past few years where we had cracked oil pans caused by material buildup between the belly guards and the engine. If you have that level of material buildup around th electrical system maybe some waterproofing of electrical connectors might also be in order.
Still fault finding on the in built grade control. however I have had the machine control engineer out to fit the Leica MC1 kit I already have and the SEA code has been removed. Why would it have been removed if it were installed before? I’d have thought it would be to the machine and not the owner?
Ive had Cat engineer come out to have a look. He said the machine has already Accugrade, Slope assist and stable blade already installed so the machine control engineer sent me image of the error and I'm left in a quandary as the below image shows the Leica kit not connecting but the dozer is enabled. Am I now looking at ECU problems or has the Cat engineer missed something? He admitted he hasn't had to deal with this on a dozer before.
Did the Leica installers install separate sensors or are they trying to use the factory installed Cat blade and chassis sensors? if The former then the only thing you need to connect to the dozer for is power and to integrate the Leica grade control system into the machine hydraulic control system. If that’s the case it should have worked when the Leica installers were done with their work if the latter then you are still experiencing the same issues I have been trying to help you understand this entire thread and your expensive Leica system is a boat anchor until those issues are resolved you need actual troubleshooting per the schematic and SIS. You cannot jump to conclusions about the ECMs until you rule out other items.
Leica has its own slope sensor. I jumped back in half hour later and had some random success. (See pic) also by putting the traction control button on made the fault appear this morning.
So. Trying to can test the Leica and the dozer isn’t going into auto. It says it’s connected to transmission levelling etc but when I do the setup the auto switch isn’t working (grade control now working)
I have the same problem on a d5k2 2017. Is it ok if I just add to this original post or do i need to start a new thread ? Thanks
See if you get any answers first and if not consider starting another thread. One thing that is important is to include a Serial Number because that gives access to check how the machine was configured electronically when it was built. Also specify whether your machine is equipped with OEM Cat Accugrade or a system from A N Other manufacturer.
Yes sir.. planning on doing all that. I will send several pics as well.
This is machine were working on. Serial number to follow.
Originally there was only one problem in that there was no value in the fields for percent slope and angle as shown in pic and also had a couple codes that were active. We isolated and found that problem and it was due to a wire completely severed around where the blade attaches to frame. Cat runs the wires from factory inside a hydraulic line, 1/2" to be exact...so we remade our own hoses.. we soldered all connections, then bench tested both the 8 prong male ends by sending voltage down each individual line we were testing. All 8 tested 100 percent. FYI, All soldered joints were wrapped with Tesa cloth electrical tape and also wrapped ends....reinstalled it and fired up machine. Machine came on.. fields were populated with a number and check active codes and none were present. We also cleaned the ends with water and glass cleaner per CAT recommendations. We drove machine and tested in field and all the slope and angles had a readout and worked flawlessly. Take note that this is NOT with the slope assist ACTIVE. I will explain that next.
So after testing this and was very confident problem solved we moved on to try and setup and "turn on the automatic slope assist and noticed there was no option under home screen for "setting up" slope assist. So I called CAT and long story short he said it was not turned on and gave me password to turn that feature on. After the setup we got many more icons on the screen for options related to setting up and adjusting slope control ect. After setting up he said you would need to go to "calibrate" so I tried to calibrate and it said the following:
So we dropped belly pan and blew out that area real good.. have not taken anything apart yet but would assume every connector needs to be disconnected and taken apart .. cleaned thoroughly.. then apply something to help connections ? Not sure what is best to use if anything after cleaning those. Glass cleaner recommended by cat to clean but would like to put something back in to help with corrosion. So that is my next step fellas... I wanted to know any other areas where a guy might clean connections?
BTW.. Nige, No other aftermarket systems were installed. Just the original CAT accugrade.
An electrical schematic would show the exact location of each and every harness connector but to identify the correct schematic requires the machine Serial Number. Aerosol electrical contact cleaner would be my suggestion to clean the inside of the harness connectors. After it has evaporated and before reconnecting a small amount of dielectric grease would be my thought. Just don't put too much otherwise you can "hydraulic" the connector and crack it when reconnecting.
Roger that Nige. The Serial is : CAT00D5KTKY203375 A couple questions... *Where could i find a good electrical schematic ? *Is the heart of the Slope Assist in that box by the frame rail ? I assumed if that is the correct then this box or ecm for slope assist would then send signals via wires to relays in cab for the UP and Down and Tilt Cylinders. So most of the wiring would be in and around the frame rail and of course going out to blade.
I’ll send you the electrical schematic. Keep an eye on your messages. If the Accugrade is not on the standard machine schematic I’ll find one for it as well.
FYI anyone having the same problem we did want to give an update. So we did find one other problem. There was a four prong connector that had one pin totally corroded. So we fixed that and assumed that had to be it. Had all the correct voltage readings on the wires that had voltage and also data wires checked out to be fine doing an ohm test. Was stumped until we reverted back to turning off the slope assist. So after doing this the slope main and cross slope started working. At this point we are 99% sure the module on the back of blade, not the C frame is bad. And of course its the most expensive. So for now we just need the slope of machine for the jobs were currently doing and not the Automatic slope assist. BTW ... My hats off to Nige ...that Electrical Schematic was one of the best schematics i have ever used !! Thanks Nige !
Glad you got it sorted even if the final fix looks like it is going to be a bit pricy. Corrosion or humidity in connectors can give you fits. If you can find a source for this or a similar product in the US, plus the amalgamating tape that gets wrapped over the connector afterwards, it should cure your problems once and for all. Even if you only used it on the Accugrade wiring. Senson Tek Senson has developed a range of products to enhance the reliability of printed circuit boards and assemblies sensontek.com.au
I recently purchased a Cat 5k2 and the slope assist doesn’t work. Would you please send me a copy of the schematic. Thanks
Do you still have the schematic for this. I have a 2018 D5K also with a problem with the assist. Thanks
Please post a Serial Number just to confirm that it’s the same schematic. There could easily be more than one.
KY207906
Good job. It turns out that the schematic for KY2 machines from 7000-Up is different to the one for the previous guy. in fact there are no less than four different electrical schematics (depending on S/N range) for KY2 production. Check your message inbox.
Hey Nige. Im having similar issues with a D4K2 machine can you send me the schematics for it? Its been at the local cat place twice and it will work for a bit and then stop. They keep charging me for it and it has yet to be resolved. SN#KM207270
Also Nige, the active Codes I have at the moment are 247-9 J1939 Data Link 3423-9 Grade Control System 1952-13 Chassis Angle Snsr Not sure the name of the box but I unplugged the controller on the passenger side of the machine mounted in the belly towards the front and I didn't notice any corrosion or water in the plugs. I blew them out and reconnected.
Check your message inbox.
See the attached procedures but I strongly suggest you read through all 3 pages and take note of the problems other posters came across - almost all of them were related to water entry and corrosion in connectors.